A Thanksgiving to Remember
by isabellamasens
Summary: AH, AU, E/B. Bella is an English major. Edward plays in the NFL. It's her first Thanksgiving away from home, and the first she'll spend with a boyfriend.


**DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Twilight Saga, or any character's created by Stephenie Meyer. This work of fiction, set in the Twilight universe, is purely for fun.**

"First and ten, do it again, go Bears!" I pull my coat tight around my body and clap, cheering on the boys on the field. This wasn't how I'd planned to spend my Thanksgiving, but when you know, you know. And when Edward Cullen asks you to stand on the sidelines and cheer him to victory in his hometown, Thanksgiving football game? Well, how can you say no?

My Dad, Charlie, and his new wife, Sue, had been so disappointed when I'd called them, somewhat last minute, telling them I'd be staying in Chicago this year.

I would have been cutting it close, anyway. My last midterm was submitted the day before.

"Hey, Bella!" One of the cheerleaders called, waving to me as she exited the field. The game was back on and I smiled as I caught sight of #21 running onto the field.

"Hey, Jess. How are you?" I ask as I shove my hands in my pockets.

"Oh, I've been great! Wish Mike and I were with family today, but what can you do? He's gotta be on the field." I nod in understanding. I've only been dating Edward Cullen for eight months, but it'd been easy to adjust to the football way of life.

We'd spent Halloween in a hotel in Arizona, away game. Christmas Eve would likely be the same. At least his family were in town. He'd lived here his whole life. He wasn't the first Bear in his family, either. It made it a lot easier to have people around who understood. I'd never spent a Thanksgiving away from my dad. Even after my Mom left, she never bothered to try and get me to come see her during the holidays. It was always me and Dad growing up. It felt weird to not be with him this year.

I'd never been a huge football fan. Dad had always tried to get me into it, but the most I ever watched were holiday games and the super bowl — and that was mainly for the halftime show. Hello, who was going to say no to watching Beyoncé do her thing? Yeah, right.

But, now, despite not being the biggest fan in the past, I couldn't help but want to be right here, on this field, watching him bring home yet another win this season.

"Oh, hell no! That was a bitch move and you know it, ref! I want him ejected!" The sound of Jess screaming next to me snapped me out of my thoughts and I refocused on the game, eyes darting all over the place, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Pass interference, automatic first down." Mike Newton hobbled toward the sidelines, clutching his nose with a wad of paper towels. One of the linemen had elbowed him in the nose, and apparently, it had been intentional. Jess was still fuming as she ran up to Mike, trying to help him, but I could tell she was also trying not to get blood on her cheerleading uniform.

It was another four minutes trying to get through twelve seconds on the clock, and I was holding my breath. Edward and his team were up by fourteen, so I knew they'd likely be free of going into overtime, but I wanted to see him before he had to go do press things.

Almost as soon as my thought had come to an end, Edward ran into the endzone, and the crowd went wild. Jess grabbed my arm and pulled me onto the field, the celebration starting as soon as he got the touchdown and the clock hit zero.

When I saw him, that #21 pointing him out for me, I took off running. Or, well, I ran as much as I could in the heels I was wearing. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, sighing as his arms wrapped around my body. In that moment, I knew I was done. I was home. I'd never need anything else again. Not as much as I needed him.

 **TWO HOURS LATER**

"So, Bella, what did you think about your first NFL game?" Esme asks as soon as we're all seated at the table.

"Well, I didn't have any idea what was going on, but Jess helped me with that. Unfortunately, I've only retained some of what Edward's taught me about the game." That earned a round of laughs from everyone in the room, and I smiled along with them.

"For someone who doesn't understand the game, she sure talked my ear off about it the entire walk to the locker room."

"I think I talked your ear off about how great your ass looked in your uniform, but if that's what _you_ focus on during the game, then I'm glad I was of service." I say, giving him a wink before returning to the bowl of green bean casserole in front of me and scooping a helping onto my plate.

"Well, you just spend a few more games with us, and we'll get you so well-versed in the game that you'll be speaking Football in no time."

"I think I'd like that, Esme, thank you." The rest of the night passed quickly, and after an hour and a half at the table, we'd all made our way into the living room. Emmett, Edward's older brother, and his fiancé Rosalie, were spread out by the fireplace. Alice, his younger sister, and her husband Jasper, were curled up together in an armchair. Esme and Carlisle had retired for the night and bid us all a good night, leaving Edward and I to cuddle on the couch.

"So, Edward tells us you're studying English Literature at University of Chicago. How's that going? I know you two have been dating for almost a year, but I feel like we've hardly gotten to know you. " Alice asks. She's nearly all the way atop Jasper, and looks like she fits perfectly in his lap. I still can't believe how small she is. She definitely makes up for it with her larger-than-life personality.

"It's going really well, thank you for asking. I've only got one more semester, and then I'm graduating. That's kind of scary to think about."

"Well, yeah. That's a big change." Rosalie says, looking up at me. She's not been the most talkative tonight. Edward had said she'd been through a lot and doesn't open up much, so it was nice that she was engaging a little more in the conversation.

"Moving out here was a big change, too. I guess I'm just nervous I won't find a job here and I'll have to move back to home."

"Nonsense. If you're out of the dorms, you know you can move in with me." I blush and shake my head. He's been trying to get me to move in with him for the better part of the last two months. I'd all but decided to move in with him, but I wanted to say that conversation for Christmas. It seemed like a cute present; Me, all wrapped up in ribbon, and never returning to the dorms.

We all talked for a little while longer, but after a while, Emmett and Alice dragged their significant others upstairs to their old childhood bedrooms, leaving Edward and I downstairs.

"This was the most wonderful Thanksgiving I could have ever imagined. Thanks for making my first one away from my Dad a memorable one." I whispered into Edward's ear, kissing his cheek.

"As long as you're with me, they'll all be memorable. I love you, Bella. "

"I love you, Edward."

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE** : As usual, college is overwhelming me. I'll be posting more of Sparks Fly over Christmas break. Hopefully between now and then I can get a few more chapters outlined and started. There aren't too many left, but my course load this semester has been over the top. Thank you all for being patient with me. I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot! I'm just as bad with football as Bella is, but the inspiration struck during the game today. I tried to make it as vague as I could. Anyway, enough of my rambling! Please review if you liked it!


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